Congratulations to Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student David Zlotnik, recipient of the first Professor Pierre T. Kabamba Award for graduate student excellence in controls systems. Zlotnik researches under Adjunct Professor James Forbes. His work focuses on nonlinear observer design, control of flexible space structures and robotic manipulators, and localization and mapping for mobile robotics.

David Zlotnik received his Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University in 2013 and his Masters of Science in Engineering at the University of Michigan in 2016. He has interned at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory and at Kitty Hawk Corporation, where he worked to develop the navigation system for the Kitty Hawk Flyer, an electric sport aircraft.

Zlotnik will be honored for his achievement at the College of Engineering Honors Convocation on March 18, 2018, where he will receive a certificate and an honorarium of $1,000.